Mending Past Wounds
by mashamallows
Summary: Annabeth is worried about Percy plunging into depression, so she goes to her mother for help. Time travel. Motherly!Athena, bullied!Percy (very lowkey Pothena, couldn't help it XD)
"Mom, please!" Annabeth pleaded, following Athena, who was walking in the gardens. "You _have_ to do this, please!"

Athena sighed, and turned to look at her daughter. She has been begging her for hours now. "Annabeth, sweetie, calm down. I'll do it, okay? I will." She put her hands on her shoulders reassuringly.

Annabeth squealed from joy and hugged Athena tightly, muttering heartfelt 'thank you's.

"Can you just tell me what I'm doing?"

Annabeth nodded eagerly, and Athena sat them down by the fountain.

"Look, mom. Percy's… Not feeling well these days. He's… He's not himself."

Athena raised an eyebrow. "Honey, I do have some medical knowledge, but maybe you should seek a mortal doctor?"

"Mom, no. It's not physical, it's… He's depressed mom."

Athena looked surprised. "Perseus?"

"I know, it's so unlike him. But since he went back to school, there have been these bullies, who have been picking on him since he was a kid."

"And they are doing it again." Athena filled in the blanks, looking at Annabeth for confirmation.

"Yes. They are. And I need your help to get my Percy back. He isn't talking to me, he isn't eating-"

"Annabeth." Athena took her daughter's hands in hrs and squeezed them gently. "I'll do whatever you want me to do. Do I have to blast them?"

"I wish, but I don't want to kill innocent mortals."

"They don't seem so innocent from what you tell me."

"Mom, no. What I want you to do, is travel to the past and-"

" _What?!"_ Athena withdrew her hands and looked sternly at Annabeth. "You know it is forbidden. And you know how dangerous it is."

"I know that but-"

"Annabeth. Nobody even knows how to time travel." Athena sighed and looked at her daughter sadly.

"Mom. You do."

Athena was completely shocked. "I do not-"

"Yes, you do. We all know how powerful you can be."

"Annabeth-"

"Mom, you practice magic. You know how to open portals and make dead people come back to life and- Look just, can't you do that? For me?"

Athena sighed deeply, and looked at Annabeth reluctantly. "How did you know about all of this?"

"I just do. So please?" Tears welled in her daughter's eyes and she couldn't bring herself to say no.

"Okay. I'll do it. So, I time travel to?"

"The past. You talk to Percy, you tell him to stand up for himself against those people. Maybe this will give him back his confidence in the present. Maybe it'll work enough for them to never bother him again." Annabeth looked so hopeful, a smile gracing and lighting up her features.

"Okay then. I will. But, you know how dangerous it can be to change someone's past or future, so don't come running back to me if I do something that changes everything." Athena raised an eyebrow and looked at her daughter in the eyes to make her fully understand the consequences of such an act.

"I do. I understand mom. Just, please."

"Okay then, I'll be back by tonight evening."

 _ **Time Travel: Past**_

Athena looked around and found herself in the busy streets of Manhattan. She found a newspaper booth and got a copy of the New York Times that read '1999'. Perfect. Perseus would be about six.

She looked around her, and found a man sitting on a bench, sipping a coffee. "Excuse me." She approached him. He looked up from his paper and smiled at her.

"What can I do for such a beautiful lady?"

Athena smiled back at him. "Do you have the time, please?"

"Of course, it is about 10:30 am."

"Thank you so much." Perseus would be in recess now, wouldn't he?

She sighed deeply, thanking the man again, and went to Percy's school. Sure enough, the kids were playing in the yard in front of the school.

She stood there for a while, looking at them from the outside of the gates, when a woman approached her. She seemed to be a teacher here.

"May I help you, ma'am?" She asked politely.

Athena smiled at her. "Yes, actually. I am looking for Percy? Percy Jackson? I'm his aunt, and his mom sent me to give him his lunch. He forgot it at home." She hoped she looked convincing and not some pedophile who wants to kidnap the poor kid.

She snapped her fingers behind her back and made a packed lunch magically appear in her hand without the teacher noticing.

"Sure thing! Follow me." She opened the gates, let her in, babbling about how Percy is such a perfect kid, so cute, polite, and quiet. Athena occasionally nodded and smiled absentmindedly. She didn't really care about what this woman was saying. She just wanted to do this for her daughter.

They arrived to the end of the yard, and found Percy, sitting on a bench, alone. And, as some sick coincidence, he didn't have a lunch with him.

"Hello Percy." The teacher cooed at him, and looked up, smiling sadly.

"'Llo." He answered, and went back to looking at the kids who were playing on the slides.

"Did you forget your lunch today?" She asked him, ruffling his hair.

He nodded his head.

"Well, your aunty is here, and she brought it for you! I'll leave you two alone." She clapped and hurried off to separate two arguing kids.

Athena sat down next to him.

The weather was very cold, autumn wind slapping them harshly in the face.

Athena was wearing a long, very fashionable coat, but Percy was shivering.

"Here, I also brought you your coat." Athena pretended to get it from her bag, but she also made it appear by magic.

She handed it to him, and he put it on eagerly.

Then he frowned at her.

"You are not my aunt." He stated, and backed slightly away from her.

Athena conceded, "True. I am a friend of your dad's."

His face lit up, and he smiled at her. He was missing his two front teeth. Athena found that strangely endearing.

"You know my daddy?"

"I do." She smiled at him. "I also brought you lunch."

She handed him the paper bag, filled with grapes, a sandwich, and a chocolate bar.

He opened it and started munching on the sandwich like he hasn't eaten since last week.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"Two days ago." He shrugged, too focused on his sandwich.

Athena looked horrified.

"Two days ago?!"

"Yeah. Smelly Gabe is really mean when mommy isn't home." He then clapped his hand on his mouth, and looked at her, completely terrified. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that pwease don't hit me-"

He was full on sobbing now. Athena looked at him, and took a deep breath, letting her motherly instincts take over. She engulfed him in a hug, and started caressing his hair.

"No, no... Shh… It's alright, you're okay…" She whispered and rocked him back and forth, until he finally calmed down.

He sniffed and went back to his sandwich.

"So, how does my dad look like?" He asked finally in a wavering voice.

She smiled tenderly at him, and pulled out her phone to let him see a picture.

When Percy saw the device, he looked hesitant.

"You are some kinda rich?"

" _Are you_ and _kind of_ , Percy." She sighed. "And yes, I am."

He pouted when she corrected him, but eagerly propped himself up to look at the screen.

She browsed through her gallery and found a picture of Poseidon and herself at a gala. He had an arm around her waist, and a champagne flute was in his other hand, while she had a hand on his chest. They were both smiling broadly. It was one of the few evenings where they did get along, and she had to admit, he was such a charming gentleman back then. She didn't know if it was because because of the alcohol, or because he was really like that.

"Do you like him?" He looked suspiciously at her. He got so close to look at the screen, that he was nearly sitting on her lap.

She smiled at him and shook her head. "We are friends."

He shrugged. "He's cool." He smiled again, as he took the phone from her hands and stared down at the picture. "Can I have it?"

"The phone?"

"The picture."

Athena looked a bit hesitant, and Percy immediately handed her the phone back. "No, no, I'm sorry I shouldn't have-"

"Percy. It's alright. You do not have to be scared of me. I am your friend. I would never hurt you." She smiled down at him. "You can ask me whatever you want."

He immediately hugged her at the waist and looked up at her, grinning a toothy grin.

"Thank you…"

"Athena. I'm Athena." She smiled at him and hugged him back.

She then winked at him. "Do you wanna see a magic trick?"

At his eager nod, she put her hand over her phone screen and muttered some words, then snapped her fingers, and a copy of the picture magically appeared in her hand. Of course, she could have just snapped her fingers from the beginning, but she wanted to entertain him a little.

He squealed and clapped happily. "That was awesome!"

He took to picture from her and hugged it to his chest, then put it into his coat's pocket.

"You're awesome." He repeated, grinning up at her.

She returned the gesture happily, then remembered why she was here.

"Percy?"

"Yeah, Thena?"

Athena winced at this version of her name, but didn't say anything. She found it quite cute coming from him.

"Are there… Are there any mean kids who…"

"Make fun of me? Yeah, lots." He nodded sadly, but shrugged, like he is used to it.

"Percy, look at me."

He hesitated at first, but then looked up at her with his sad sea green eyes.

She smiled down at him tenderly, took his chin gently in her hand and lifted it up for him to look at her in the eyes.

"Pretty eyes…" He muttered, while staring into her grey, almost silvery eyes, full of love and gentleness.

She laughed quietly, then looked at him seriously again.

"Such a little charmer, just like your father." She poked his nose, and he giggled slightly. "Percy, they shouldn't treat you like that. You're worth more."

He shrugged sadly and muttered a pained 'no'.

"Percy. I'm telling you. Don't you trust me?" He nodded fervently. He could trust this woman to the end of the world. "In a few years, you're going to have a beautiful girlfriend, who will love you _so much_. And you're going to love her back even more. You're going to be a hero, Percy. The greatest hero this world has ever known. You are someone, Percy. Don't let them turn you into a no one. Okay? Promise me."

His face lit up with such joy and happiness, and hugged her, burying his head in her coat, and whispering, 'I promise', multiple times.

Athena smiled brightly and kissed him on the top of his head.

"You have to tell them that you are someone. You shouldn't let them do this to you. Promise me that you'll stand up for yourself." He nodded again, his head still in her coat.

He then lifted his head, grinned and kissed her sloppily on the cheek.

"Love you, Thena." He snuggled closer to her.

She laughed and muttered back an "I love you too, Percy."

The bell rang suddenly, interrupting their embrace.

Percy let go reluctantly, and looked at Athena with tears in his eyes again.

"Please don't go. Promise me that I'll see you again." Athena looked into his eyes, as her heart twisted painfully.

"Percy… I will see you again. Someday." He seemed satisfied by this answer, as her kissed her again and hugged her tightly, then ran back to class, leaving her sitting on the bench alone.

'Now, I just have to find this 'Smelly Gabe' person, and make him wish he was never born.'

 _ **HI! So, this is something inspired from a prompt I found on instagram! I hope you liked this :) Also, for those of you who have noticed, I have completely deleted What Happen In High School, Stays in High School, because of personal reasons. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading motherly!Athena and cute bullied kid!Percy.**_

 _ **REVIEW!**_


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